This Is Me

"Aish!!"

Yoo Sumi swung her sword in a wide arc, and a sharp ice wall surged upward, slicing the lightning horn rhino clean in half.

Just like that, the rhino was dead.

But the ground was littered with people collapsed and groaning everywhere.

The healer over there could probably fix them all if given enough time, but I couldn't just stand around watching.

I immediately dashed among them and started spraying heals everywhere.

I healed the guy clutching his side and moaning, the one covered in lightning burns, and even woke up the unconscious with a burst of healing.

Thankfully, there wasn't a single fatality.

The worst injury belonged to the archer party leader.

She'd taken a direct lightning strike; her right arm was so mangled it was painful to look at.

But even that disappeared like a bad dream after one of my heals.

"This...? An injury like this should need multiple heals to recover. Your healing output must be incredible. Thank you."

"Hehe... It's nothing special."

"Haah, seriously. I really thought I was done for and would have to retire."

The party leader let out a deep sigh of relief after receiving the healing.

"No, retirement isn't even the issue. I would've been trampled to death before that. Who cast the barrier on me earlier? You saved my life, so I'll give you a share of the profits."

The rest of her party members all turned to look at their own healers at once.

But both healers shook their heads.

One had been knocked unconscious by lightning the moment the fight started, and the other had been too busy throwing heals all over the place to focus on anything else.

"Then...?"

When the party leader's gaze turned toward me with a glimmer of hope, I spoke up.

"I... I did it. The barrier."

As I said that, I cast the barrier on the party leader once more.

Yoo Sumi and Kim Seohwa beside me stared with their eyes wide as saucers.

It was only natural. Up until now I'd been unable to use the skill, and now I was suddenly throwing it around.

Honestly, even I felt dazed.

I'd condensed my mana into a wall with the mindset of at least trying to do something, and it had registered as a skill on the spot.

It was clearly listed in my status window under the skill list as well.

This was the common supporter-class skill, Barrier.

If healing restored damage after it happened, Barrier prevented damage before it could occur.

Its specialty was stopping party members from being one-shot by powerful attacks and making allied movements far smoother by blocking hits entirely.

Because of that, the barrier skill was considered essential knowledge for any healer entering a gate.

"...Yeah. It's the same barrier I received earlier."

The party leader nodded.

"If your party hadn't been here, this would've been a serious disaster. Thank you. I'll give you forty percent of my personal share, Jiyun. And I'll send twenty percent of our entire party's profits to your party. That's combining the fact that we nearly had funeral expenses with the credit for taking down that rhino."

"Haha. You told us to ride the bus like barnacles out of generosity, but looks like you guys are the ones whose lives got saved?"

Yoo Sumi let out a sly chuckle.

"Why are you acting smug? You were fighting with Jiyun's buffs, weren't you? Right?"

"What? How did you know?"

"If you were really that strong, you would've hit A-rank ages ago. Oh, right. We should also pay usage fees for the heals Jiyun gave everyone earlier."

"Ah, no, you don't have to go that far..."

The money I'd already agreed to receive would nearly double our profits.

They were a full ten-person party that specialized in gate farming, so the profits from a single run had to be enormous.

Getting a percentage of that was basically like winning the lottery.

"...Ah!"

That's when something occurred to me.

If I was going to receive something, there was something far better than money.

"Um. Party leader, miss...?"

"Ah, my name is Kang Arin. Why? Is there something else you want?"

"You shoot your bow really well, right?"

It was a bit of a stupid question. Of course an archer would shoot well.

"Haha. I'm B+ rank, unlike Yoo Sumi over there who's B-rank. You want to learn archery? I thought you were a healer?"

"Well... it's just that..."

I'd jumped in thinking this was a chance to learn archery, but now what?

Should I just reveal that I have a Unique-grade class? Would that even be okay?

That's when Yoo Sumi walked over and whispered quietly into Kang Arin's ear.

"...It's a bit of a special case, but she can shoot a bow even though she's a healer."

"Really? That's a thing? Anyway, you want to learn how to shoot, right?"

I nodded.

"Alright. That's no problem at all. Once we're done farming this gate, I'll contact you properly and we'll set up a time."

"Th-thank you...!!"

I was really going to learn archery from a real archer...!

With the lottery suddenly hitting our party like that, we decided to stop riding the barnacle bus.

The other party planned to continue heading up the mountain.

"Tankers, get your heads on straight! You guys were scattered all over catching small fry and let the rhino charge in! If that happens again we're all dead!"

Kang Arin's furious battle review followed right after.

It seemed they'd been fighting the small monsters too casually and let their formation crumble, which led to this disaster.

We said our goodbyes to their party shortly after.

And then we...

"Jiyun, what the hell is that?!"

"Eep."

Yoo Sumi suddenly shoved her face right into mine and shouted.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"The barrier, obviously. Didn't you not have the barrier skill? How did it suddenly appear? Since when?"

"Calm down and ask one question at a time. You did just get the barrier skill, right?"

"Y-yeah. I used it earlier trying to save Arin."

I recalled that moment again.

The desire to protect Kang Arin. And the intention to form a wall with mana for defense.

The two had combined and become a skill...?

What? You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could learn skills in such a childish, intuitive way?

"Do kids these days learn skills like this...? Normally you learn the theory first, then spend weeks or months practicing before you barely acquire even one skill, don't you?"

"That's how it usually works. Jiyun, did you learn any theory about the barrier skill?"

"Do you need to know the theory to learn a skill?"

Both Yoo Sumi and Kim Seohwa let out heavy sighs at the same time.

No, I really didn't know.

Who knew learning a skill required theory too.

"Skills have a mana structure that forms their foundation. You have to learn the theory first to create that structure. You can't design a building without studying architecture."

"After you learn the theory, you practice recreating the skill exactly as taught until you're proficient enough for it to register in your status window."

"I see. But I've never even heard the theory. I used the barrier skill for the first time earlier."

Now Yoo Sumi and Kim Seohwa could only stare at each other.

...Hehe.

That meant my talent was shining once again.

I planted my hands on my hips. My shoulders and cheekbones shot toward the sky.

"Uahaha. Sorry if I surprised you too much. Even I don't know where the limits of my talent lie."

"Ugh. You're so annoying, you little brat."

"Eeeeek."

Yoo Sumi pulled me into a hug and vigorously rubbed her chin all over the top of my head.

"...So this is what a genius looks like. Just creates a skill on the spot with pure intuition and intent."

Kim Seohwa muttered with an empty expression.

"Ehehe."

Once the praise session for my talent ended, we decided to head back.

Since we'd already hit the lottery by saving Kang Arin's party, there was no need to stay any longer.

But before we left, I decided to test one more thing.

"I'm casting the barrier now!"

"Okay."

Time to check the performance of my barrier.

Just from stopping that rampaging lightning horn rhino earlier, I knew its strength was reliable.

But I wanted to test it more thoroughly.

The test subject was a troll holding a massive club.

Yoo Sumi, wrapped in my barrier, slowly walked in front of the troll, and the troll lifted its club.

"Ugaaaaah!"

With a stupid roar, the troll brought the club crashing down.

BAAAANG!!

Trolls might give off the image of small fry, but they were still three-meter-tall masses of muscle.

Taking a proper hit from that club would mean serious injury for sure.

Yet my barrier easily received the troll's full-powered strike.

Bang! Bang! BAAAAANG!!

The club swung down repeatedly. Yoo Sumi even lay flat on the ground and crossed her legs at one point.

Crack—

In the end, the club that had been hammering the barrier shattered first.

The barrier endured another dozen or so of the troll's punches before finally disappearing.

"Okay. This is seriously solid. I could tank at this level, couldn't I?"

That was what Yoo Sumi said after slicing up the troll and coming back.

I broke into a huge grin at the news.

As expected of me. Whether in looks or talent, the ultimate overpowered healer who lacked nothing.

A genius who couldn't go a day without surprising someone.

With the addition of the barrier skill, the number of strategies our party could use had multiplied several times over.

At this point, the concept of risk basically didn't exist.

There was no need to worry about Yoo Sumi or Kim Seohwa getting hurt, nor about me getting attacked.

We wrapped up today's gate run amid happiness and joy.

By the time evening approached, we went to the purchasing center and handed over the mana stones we'd farmed.

The administrative staff member's eyes widened in shock as the enormous pile of mana stones clattered onto the table.

They probably hadn't expected a mere three-person party to collect this many.

"The total comes to... 21,235,200 won."

"Wow."

The exclamation slipped out on its own.

As expected of a C-grade gate, the profits were double what we'd made in D-grade gates.

And since we had one less person than when we went to the D-grade gate, the profit per person was more than double.

I was already set to receive fifty percent, so...

"Ten million won...!!"

And the settlement wasn't even finished yet.

There was still the money coming from Kang Arin's party, so adding that...

"Ehehe... heehee..."

Just how much money was this? It looked like I'd earn a year's salary for most people in a single day.

I'd really become rich. What should I do with the money first? Should I upgrade to a high-end gaming computer? Maybe set up some powerful speakers too?

"Wow... Look at the money rolling in. Being a hunter really feels worth it now."

"For real. This is all thanks to Jiyun, isn't it?"

We all basked in pure happiness while staring at the numbers filling our accounts.

As expected, once money starts piling up, everything in the world feels relaxed and fun.

Since Kim Seohwa had taken the bus here, the three of us rode in the pickup truck straight to the buffet.

We demolished plates of pasta, fried rice, and all kinds of food, then stuffed ourselves with sweet things like green grape pudding jelly and chocolate cake.

And then.

"Jiyun. Are you interested in joining a guild?"

Kim Seohwa spoke up.

"The Defenders, the guild I'm in. You know Han Jiyeon is the guild leader, right?"

Han Jiyeon was one of the few S-rank hunters in the country.

She used to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the nation's top guild, Baekhwa, but left for certain reasons and founded her own guild.

So Kim Seohwa was with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Defenders.

"Whoa. I really like Hunter Han Jiyeon. But don't minors can't join guilds?"

"You can't join officially. But you can sign a preliminary contract. The guild sponsors you from a young age, and you officially join once you become an adult."

It was a good offer.

The Defenders were one of the rising mid-sized guilds shooting up like a comet. If I led their growth, I could secure a pretty big position.

But there was the matter of my identity, and I'd already decided not to join any guild.

I would pioneer my own future.

While everyone needed me, I had to raise my value as much as possible.

"I'm sorry... I don't have any plans to join a guild right now."

"That's right. Jiyun is going to become like the North Star in the night sky. And she has to play with me."

Yoo Sumi added her own comment.

"Then it can't be helped. Everyone would be thrilled if you joined. Just let me know if you change your mind."

After we finished eating, we returned to our small but cozy house.

The moment we arrived home, I naturally turned on the gallery first thing.

It was the highest record since the epic dad joke I'd posted before.

After that, I spent about an hour munching on gallery cake through a boogie party and enjoyed the dopamine rush.

Staring at my unbelievably wealthy account balance, I started thinking about what to do with it.

"...Gacha...!!"

That's right. I had to roll the gacha.

Did they know how heartbreaking it was when I couldn't pull my favorite characters because I had no money?

Did they know how sad life was when I couldn't even properly enjoy a single game?

About twenty percent of why I wanted to earn money was so I could pull whatever characters I wanted.

There was already over sixteen million won in my account.

And one of my favorite games was running a vicious quadruple pickup event to celebrate its anniversary.

"Double full pulls, let's go!!!"

Using all the resources I'd saved up and a huge chunk of cash, I completed double full pulls on two pretty, cute characters.

"Ehehe... My characters..."

The characters were also happy with their full breakthroughs and full refinements.

It was too much happiness.

This was life. This was living.